


Parallel Worlds : Conversations on the TARDIS

by shaysdragon



Series: Parallel Worlds [4]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternative Lifestyles, F/M, M/M, Multi, established triad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-12
Updated: 2014-02-05
Packaged: 2018-01-01 08:14:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1042483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shaysdragon/pseuds/shaysdragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of Conversations between Jack, Rose, the Doctor, and in some cases the TARDIS herself. Each Chapter is its own conversation and are not necessarily linked or relate to each other, though they may be referenced in other stand-alone Parallel Worlds stories. Some Mature content. Established Ten/Rose/Jack OT3.</p><p>Disclaimer: I don't own operate or have anything to do with the creators, publishers or distributors of Doctor Who other than being a rabid fangirl. This is a work of fiction based on existing characters and my own fantasy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hypervodka Confessions

**Author's Note:**

> I borrowed the Coleura from a novella written by one of my favorite authors - Anne McCaffrey _(may she forever rest in peace with her beloved dragons)_. It wasn't one of her famous Pern novels, but the idea of a living psychic material that would form a symbiotic bond with its host intruiged me. I humbly hope I have done it justice and her spirit will understand my use is meant in the highest respect from a girl that she taught to let her imagination soar.

**Hypervodka Confessions**  
  
Rose tucked the brown bag a little bit tighter against her body and shut the door of the TARDIS quickly behind her moments before the familiar whooshing sound started.  
  
The Doctor looked up at her amusement from his usual place behind the third knob and fourth lever of the center console. “You cut that a little bit close, love.”  
  
Rose grinned, her tongue just touching the bottom of her top teeth in the way that the Doctor and Jack loved as she walked toward him. “I knew my girl wouldn’t leave without me.” She sent a feeling of love towards the center console while drawing her fingers slowly across it. She felt the warm brush of a purring kitten against her mind as the TARDIS responded. “Besides it was worth it to be able to see the look on Jack’s face when I pull it out after dinner.”  
  
The Doctor came around, took the bag from her, and set it on a flat spot before pulling her into his arms. He whispered “Hello” against her lips before pulling her into his arms and kissing her in the way he had learned over the last few months was guaranteed to leave her breathless and wanting more.  
  
Rose melted into the kiss, one hand automatically going to his hair (glorious glorious hair) and the other slipping around his hips to push up the edge of his suit jacket, pull out the tail of his shirt, and run her fingers along the exposed flesh of his lower back.  
  
Unable to resist the fingers along his back, scratching just so, the Doctor growled low in in his throat and deepened the kiss; his tongue claiming her mouth while his hands mirrored hers and locked into her hair and waist. He opened his mind to the desire flowing off her and responded with equal ferocity, relishing in the feel of their linked emotions.  
  
A loud crash and a muffled “DAMN IT!” followed by footsteps rushing toward the engine room finally broke the kiss as a fondly annoyed Jack walked into the area; the shirtsleeves of his light blue oxford rolled back and a frilly white eyelet apron covering the front of his shirt and trousers. “Really you two!! How many times have I told you, no emotion bursts while I am cooking! The soufflé is totally ruined now. You are just lucky that I already pulled the tart out and the roast still has a few more minutes to go.”  
  
Rose and the Doctor grinned at each other before Rose stepped out of his embrace and sauntered over to Jack, putting just a bit more sway into her hips since she knew that he couldn’t resist her when she walked this way.  
  
Jack knew that she knew his weakness for her slightly aggressive try-to-resist-me walk and put on his best you-think-I-can’t-resist-you-just-watch-me smile. It was a game that they both played with each other, much to the alternating amusement and despair of the Doctor, who never could quite master that level of subtle flirtation. Still holding onto the smile, though the look in his eyes let Rose know that she had won, Jack said, “None of that Rosie. You know that I wanted to make something special for our six month anniversary.”  
  
“I am sorry, Jack,” Rose replied contritely before grabbing a fistful of the apron and pulling him into her. “At least I am sorry that I keep forgetting that with my hypersensitivity to all things lusty, I project it through our bonds. I will try to remember to shield better.” She slid on hand into his hair (nearly as glorious as the Doctor’s) and tugged his head down for a kiss equally as intense as the one she had given to the Doctor a moment before. She knew she had won when he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her slightly so she was on tip toes forcing her to rely on him to keep her balanced. His lips and tongue teased hers in a way that was different from the Doctor’s but equally as exciting. She let the kiss continue for several moments before the image of a timer warning that it was going to go off in one minute 30 seconds appeared in her head. Shooting the image of herself blowing a kiss towards the center console in thanks for the TARDIS’s warning, she broke off the kiss. Moving her mouth to whisper into his ear, she said, “I am not sorry, however, that my emotions brought you out here so I could see you in this apron. You look so sexy adorable, I can hardly stand it. I didn’t think you would actually wear it when the Doctor got it for you.”  
  
Jack threw his head back and laughed. “Of course I would wear it. I look fantastic in it.” He grinned and shot a wink at the Doctor who covered his mouth with a hand to stop his laughter from burbling out. “Besides, of the three of us, I am the only one who can make more than mashed potatoes or grilled cheese sandwiches. Let’s face it. Without me, you would have both slowly perished of hunger or had a heart attack from all the processed junk you were eating when I first came on board.”  
  
“True enough Jack,” the Doctor said before walking over to where Rose and Jack were standing and pulling Jack’s head to the side so he could kiss him with as much fervor as he had Rose a few moments before. When he had finished and Jack’s breathing was just the tiniest bit off he said, “Though I did hope that when I brought you the apron that it would be the ONLY thing you were wearing when you cooked.”  
  
Rose started laughing as Jack flushed a bright red before gaining control and returning the wicked grin. “Duly noted.” The sound of a timer going off in the kitchen finally got his attention and Jack immediately stepped away from both of them and rushed back to the kitchen. Over his shoulder he yelled, “Dinner in five minutes. Doctor – grab a bottle of wine from the cellar would you? Something that pairs will with roast, potatoes, and greens. Rose – could I get you to set the table?”  
  
“We have been commanded,” the Doctor laughed and kissed Rose one more time quickly. “I will put that (he pointed to the brown bag still conspicuously sitting on the console) in the Library for later.”  
  
“Rose!!” Jack’s voice echoed back through the hallway impatience clearly heard.  
  
“On my way!!” Rose replied loudly so Jack could hear before winking at the Doctor. “Thanks, love. It is going to be so much fun to surprise him tonight.” She turned and jogged down the corridor to the kitchen.  
  


********************

“That was delicious,” Rose said as she sat down on the couch in the library. She cuddled back into Jack’s chest as he sat on one end and threw her legs over the Doctor’s lap as he sat on the other end. It was a position that was rapidly coming to be their favorite way to relax after a long day. Faint music wafted through the air changing on the whim of the TARDIS. She occasionally listened when her people requested songs or genres of music, but the Doctor, Jack, and Rose were quite aware of her stubborn personality and they had long since resigned themselves to the fact that she was in control of this particular aspect of their daily lives. _Not that I mind too much, except she has a tendency to go overboard when she is trying to play matchmaker or she is annoyed with all three of us. Thankfully, she doesn’t need to play matchmaker anymore since the three of us bonded and it’s not often that all three of us manage to piss her off. One or two of us maybe, but not all three. Though it’s kind of funny to find out whose side of an argument she is on based on the background music. If she is on the Doctor’s side – it’s classical – generally Bach or Tchaikovsky, Jack’s – big band, or mine – 1990-2000’s Brit Pop or Rock and Roll._ Rose smiled again as she stretched a bit more and curved an arm around Jack’s neck and laid the other on the Doctor’s thigh.

“I feel like I should be petting you,” Jack said. “You’re like a cat full of cream – completely relaxed and more than a little self-satisfied.”

“Hmmm… I wouldn’t mind, though after the way we plowed through your cooking, you should be the one who is satisfied. We are officially spoiled and you are never allowed to leave us again. We would die of starvation without you.”

Jack laughed. “So you only love me because I feed you. I see how it is.”

“Oh come on now, Jack, you know that’s not true,” the Doctor answered with a smirk, “You also climb through the access tunnels to fix the wiring that I don’t want… err… can’t get to. Invaluable, that.”

“Now that you mention it… why AM I always the one crawling and getting dirty in the tunnels? You are skinnier than I am and would probably fit a whole lot better. Come to think of it, both of you would fit better than I do.”

Rose grinned, “But Jack… you are so much sexier than us when you come out of the tunnels all disheveled and greasy.” She angled her neck up so she could give him a wink. “Besides, I am rubbish at the wiring stuff. Or have you forgotten the last time I tried to wire two connections together?”

Jack gave a visible shudder and said, “No… and I really don’t recommend electrocution as a way to die. It hurts.”

“Hey! I didn’t kill you. You just got a little singed.” She slapped ineffectually at his chest with her hand.

“Close enough.” He said with a grin. “A couple more seconds and my heart could have stopped.”

“The TARDIS would have cut power before then and you know it,” the Doctor replied.

“Oh I know. I just like teasing Rose about it. It’s not often anymore that I find something that I am better at then her.”

“Be nice or I won’t give you the surprise that I went through a whole lot of trouble to find for you.” Rose said with a cheeky smile.

“A surprise?” Jack answered. “For me? Hmmm… is it lingerie from Dionysius III? Mmmm… you would look so good in those flimsy things the priestesses call ceremonial robes.”

Rose laughed. “Not a chance. I like things that cover my bits a bit more than some strategically placed gold thread. Though the leather pants the pleasure slaves wore on Remus XVI were lovely. I could totally see you in a pair of those.”

“If we are talking about fantasies and clothing, then I want to see both of you in high formal wear from the Calinaphalous Monarchy on Cetii X – they have that iridescent living material they call the Coleura that conforms to your body and moves with you. It creates a psychic link and changes color based on your emotions. I think it safe to say I could get it to the darkest shade of desire. Too bad it’s restricted to members of the royal family alone. I hear that the feeling of wearing it is indescribable.”

Rose shivered as a visceral memory sprang up of wearing that living material in another dimension. The caress of its softer than silk texture whispering against her body as it molded itself to her curves in a way that heightened her awareness, made her feel alive, and beautiful in a way she hadn’t experienced for a long time… and the look of two sets of eyes – one deep violet and one impossibly blue as they beckoned for her to join them. “It is…”

“What is?” the Doctor started to say then looked more closely at her flushed skin. “Wait… Rose. When did you wear the Coleura?”

Rose heard the awe and confusion in the Doctor’s voice and abruptly sat up. “Doesn’t matter. Long time ago. I am thirsty. Would anyone else like a drink?”

The Doctor continued to stare at her intently, so it was left to Jack to break the tension. “Sure Rosie. What are you making?”

Rose pulled a bottle out from behind her back and held it up where Jack could get a good glimpse of it. “I was thinking Cosmos.”

“Is that… Is that hypervodka?” Jack said, awe in his voice. “Where in the Galaxy did you find it? It’s highly restricted.”

“I have my sources,” Rose answered with a grin. “You told us that two shots of this had you in bed with your executioners. I am curious to see what you will do with us.”

“Ha!! The hypervodkas were to change their minds about killing me rather than my lack of desire to spend the night with them. They were gorgeous – think bodybuilders wearing nothing but leather loincloths. Ahh… what a night.” Jack grinned. “Of course, I don’t need anything even as close to as strong as a hypervodka to jump into bed with you. You had me at Hello.” He winked as she laughed at the movie reference.

“Still… I am curious and it is something that I never got a chance to try and now that the Doctor has less of an alcohol immunity due to his being part human, I thought it would be a fun way to celebrate our six month anniversary.”

“Oh it will be.” Jack said with a wicked grin that sent butterflies twisting through her stomach. Getting up he took the bottle from her. “Trust me?”

“Always.” Rose answered with a grin. She went and sat back down on the couch next to the Doctor.

“Rose, when did you wear the Coleura?” the Doctor said again.

Rose sighed, realizing there was no way she was going to get out of telling the story. “In another dimension… when I was looking for you.” She turned and looked at him. “I will tell you the whole thing but I need a bit of alcohol in me first. Not that I am ashamed of anything I did but some bits of it are a little embarrassing.”

“So much makes sense now… It wasn’t just the xenon particles affecting your psychic development. It was the lingering effects of the Coleura as well. It can heighten specific traits. Not that your empathic abilities are anything to sneeze at but…”

“Your attraction aura is as strong as mine,” Jack said quietly as he handed both her and the Doctor a hypervodka Cosmo before going back to get his own. He held it up and said “Cheers” before clinking their glasses and taking a sip. “Mmm… perfect. The Doctor is right. The lingering effects of wearing the Coleura could be the reason that your attractiveness comes across so potently. Not that you weren’t sexy the first time I travelled with you, but when you came back it was off the charts. It was really hard to resist you but I knew the Doctor had the prior claim and I had Ianto.” He nibbled down her neck in a way that made her laugh, pushing away the image of the other man dying in his arms. “I’m just glad we got that particular situation resolved so nicely.” He switched back to the original topic. “I know mine is from the pheromone manipulation I undertook when I was a Time Agent. I didn’t exactly have difficulties picking up people before, but… well… you know.”

“Randy git,” the Doctor said fondly. “Knowing what I do of the Time Agency’s tactics for coercion, I bet it helped though.”

“Got me out of some sticky situations, for sure. This did for others,” Jack held up the Cosmo.

Rose took several sips of her drink and then said quietly. “I knew how I felt when wearing it, but I honestly didn’t realize that it forms a low level psychic link until I put it on for the first time… and then when I left the dimension, I could feel the pain of separation. It was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make.” Rose’s voice grew sad and a tear slipped down her cheek. She felt both Jack and the Doctor send loving emotions to her as they each put an arm around her. She let the love calm her before continuing. “I was welcome in that dimension and even loved in my own way but I knew that I would never be content until I found my Earth.” She grabbed the Doctor’s hand and squeezed it. “Honestly, if your counterpart had stranded me here again, I would have immediately jumped to that other world, before the dimensional retroclosure sealed it off. I stayed because you were here with me.”

“My counterpart was a fool.” The Doctor said and let his love for her show in his eyes.

“No he was scared,” Rose answered. “Time, distance, and the love of both of you made me realize that. He was so scared of losing the people he cared about that he pushed them away. He ran from them. The same way he ran from everything else. I do hope his new incarnation is happier than he was at the end.”

“I am all for running, but I would rather run towards you than from you. I knew it the moment I took your hand that first time. It just took me too long to acknowledge it.” He leaned over and kissed her.

Rose smiled as she broke the kiss with a smile. “Ok, enough of the sad and sappy. You want the story? Fair warning, it may make you think differently about me.”

“Tell us.” Jack said as he pressed a kiss against her forehead. “Nothing you could say will keep us from you.”

“Please.” The Doctor added and kissed the other side of her temple.

“Here goes - I had been world jumping for three years. Most worlds I knew within a few days if there were any Time Lords in the dimension. If there were, I would seek them out to see if they knew anything about why the stars were going out. Some worlds had a different incarnation of the Doctor and others had different Time Lords completely.”

“Makes sense,” Jack said. “Does this world have a Time Lord?”

“Yes. He’s the Scholar and boy is he a piece of work,” the Doctor grumbled. “I will tell you about him some other time.”

“Jack, you will be pleased to know that several worlds also had incarnations of you, though you weren’t immortal in any of the other ones… just… legendary.” Rose grinned. “I met your counterpart several times but honestly tried to stay away from him as much as possible. I didn’t want him realizing I was the one giving off Time energy and messing with his vortex manipulator. Besides, every time I had to pretend that I didn’t know you, it would sting. I also had to avoid mum, dad, and myself on a few occasions. I started going by Lily Smith when I went to new dimensions so I wouldn’t accidently get the Rose Tyler, if there was one, there in trouble.”

“I can see that. How legendary?” Jack’s grin made her laugh.

“Like wanted on fifty planets for unlawful seduction kind of legendary.” Rose answered. “You know… just you being you.”

Jack ruffled her hair, “Hey! I am a changed man.”

“Before this gets derailed any further, Rose please continue the story,” Jack said with a fond smile at both of his lovers.

“Right!” Rose took a breath and continued. “I had just jumped into that world and was heading toward the world’s Torchwood hub when I literally ran into a Time Agent. Like knocked us both on the ground kind of literally. We both started laughing but when he helped me up I looked into his eyes and they went on forever.” Rose’s face flushed. “They were so incredibly blue. He was a bit taller than me with sandy blond hair and a body to rival Jack’s. I just stammered there for a moment as I tried to make my mouth form coherent words.” She looked at her lovers reading the expressions of amusement, mild jealousy, and continued curiosity. “Not that I had been a saint in the six years that I had been trapped at that point, but sex was mostly to release tension rather than anything out of the ordinary. For some reason, this guy gave me the same visceral reaction and connection that I had when I first met you, Jack. It was surprising to say the least. I had never reacted that way to any other Time Agents when I had come across them, and I knew immediately that he was a Time Agent. He was having a similar reaction to me, so we decided to go into a Pub and discuss what was happening to both of us.”

“What was his name?” Jack asked curiously.

“Gr- …um… Grant.” Rose covered quickly knowing that it wasn’t the right time to tell Jack that in that particular world, it was Gray who had become the Time Agent to honor his brother Jack who had died defending him on the Boeshane Peninsula twenty-five years earlier.

“Grant… hmmm… I didn’t know any Grant’s at the Agency. Must have been one of the differences.” Jack said with a grin. “But if he caught you attention, Rosie, there must have been something about him.”

“There was.”

“Are we still on the Coleura story?” the Doctor asked slightly peevishly. “Not that I don’t like hearing about the other men that Rose has lusted after (the sarcasm was dripping from his voice on the last words) but I still want to know about how Rose got to wear a Coleura.”

“Doctor, you seem to have an obsession with my clothing,” Rose laughed then punched him lightly in the thigh. “Yes it’s the same story and I am getting there but that part was important… Don’t tell me you are jealous of people in my past.”

“No… well… maybe,” the Doctor said sheepishly. “Not that I was actually much more than still a hand at that point but still. Technically, though I have the other Doctor’s memories and umm… desires… I have only slept with you and Jack in this body.”

“Does that bother you?” Rose asked curiously. “I never really thought about it quite like that before.”

The Doctor sighed. “No actually it doesn’t. I am being silly and jealous. I know that I have no right to be jealous of your past lovers but I am in a way… because they weren’t me and I wanted you so desperately. But you’re right. There is no way that I should have expected that in the seven years that you were trying to find me again that you were chaste. Now that I have a half human body, I can’t ignore its needs the way a full Time Lord body can. I am sorry. Please go on with the story.”

Rose leaned in to gently kiss him, “I left him and that world’s Time Lord to come for you. I have never regretted it. I am where I belong… Right here with you and Jack.”

The Doctor smiled and shook off the last of his melancholy, “Quite right.”

“So you and Grant talked in the pub…” Jack eased back into the conversation.

“Yes. It turns out that he was looking for that world’s Time Lord too since he had also noticed the stars going out. We decided to join forces. It’s kind of funny that you mention denying the sexual needs of your Time Lord body because when we finally found him, the Time Lord was in the most unusual place.”

“Where?” the Doctor asked, trying to think of unlikely locations.

“He was the ruling Prince of the Calinaphalous monarchy. Tall, raven hair, the most intense violet eyes, and undeniably gorgeous - Prince Galen Demarin Julius Alexander Matthew Calinaphalous to the people of his planet, and known as The Lover to the Time Lords.”

“A Time Lord was the ruling monarch of a planet?” Jack asked incredulously.

“A Time Lord, known as the Lover, ruled over the peaceful, hedonistic, intellectual and sexually free peoples of Calinaphalous,” Rose clarified again. “I know we think of the Time Lords as militaristic and doggedly in pursuit of their own intellectual perfection to the detriment of other races, but Galen was different. He embraced a different way. I won’t tell you his story, because it would take all night, but suffice it to say he protected his planet and that universe just as much as the Doctor did in ours. When Grant and I approached him, he was already aware of us and he could see through the façade I had created while travelling. I was able to gather a lot of information at his court that ultimately helped me find the right dimension back.”

Rose paused and made each of them another hypervodka Cosmo before returning to the story. “I spent nearly nine months in that dimension gathering information and just finally being in a place that felt right in a way I had missed for six years. Within two months of staying with him, Grant and I became royal consorts. That was when I was given a Coleura… and an education in ways to… umm… exchange energy or sexually satisfy and be satisfied that were… umm… nontraditional to say the least.”

“Why Rose?!? Whatever do you mean?” Jack grinned evilly at her as he bit down firmly on her neck, as he better understood her reaction to some things he had hinted at in the last six months.

Rose unwilling to hold back that part of herself any more from the men she loved, let herself respond the way she had wanted to for months… with a low moan and a whispered “harder” as she locked one hand into Jack’s hair and the other in a tight grip on the Doctor’s thigh. Her mind flooded with the deep purple of desire and her body floating as it changed the pain into pleasure.

Jack complied with the whispered request and only pulled back when his teeth threatened to break the skin. For the first time, he could feel the need that Rose had kept buried. Interestingly enough, he could also feel a strike of interest from the Doctor as well as he watched the way their bodies moved together. _I think I know why Rose wanted the hypervodkas before she had this conversation. But I am so willing to be whatever her or the Doctor need._ Slowly Jack slid his tongue over the purple imprint of his teeth on her neck, soothing and holding her until her breathing calmed. “I take it that BDSM was part of that education?”

Rose let herself sink back into her body and shakily reach for her drink before answering. “Yes, among other things. It was quite an education. I discovered that I really enjoy bondage, thuddy sensations, marks, and giving up control… in the bedroom at least. Grant and Galen learned quite quickly that outside of it I can be controlling, demanding, and short tempered. Too many years of having to depend on myself while world jumping, I suspect.”

“I doubt that they said it like that,” the Doctor replied with a grin. “I bet they said confident, secure, intelligent, and doesn’t suffer fools lightly.”

“How did-“

“Because you always did criticize yourself more harshly than you deserved,” the Doctor answered. “All of that is part of the reason why I fell in love with you, so I can easily see them doing the same. The other part is that despite all of that you are fearless and still have so much compassion for others.” He kissed the inside of her wrist.

“So my rather unusual kinks don’t bother you?”

“Not at all, love,” Jack said with a wink. “I will Top you, bottom for you, or be anything that you need. I am kind of switchy, like that. The kinky stuff is just another part of me and I am SO looking forward to exploring it with you.” He whispered into her ear while looking at the Doctor. “I am also quite partial to impact play and bondage. Think we can talk the Doctor into tying us up together and fucking us both?”

The comment had the desired result in that Rose burst out laughing, but it was the heat in the Doctor’s eyes at it that made the laughter turn to something else.

“I think I can manage to do that…” the Doctor’s response sent shivers down their arms. When he shifted position to hold himself on his hands over both of them the goose bumps spread throughout their bodies. “The Lover isn’t the only Time Lord to know the countless ways to produce pleasure. We are all taught the basics, but there is usually only one per generation to embrace it, the rest of us learn to suppress it. I think it’s time to go down that path a bit more… in the name of exploration.” He claimed Rose’s lips in a bruising kiss that left her moaning and wet before doing the same to Jack. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to leave my lovers wanting. Weeeelll… I may do that, actually… but I will always give you satisfaction in the end. You may just need to beg for it.”

“Please…” Rose was having a hard time getting the words out of a suddenly breathless mouth.

“Oh gods YES!” was Jack’s enthusiastic response.

The Doctor laughed and sat back down on the couch, pleased at the reaction he was able to elicit in each of them. “Good. Now finish telling the story, because I have a feeling there is something that you aren’t telling us still…”

Rose groaned then took another sip of her drink. “Where was I?”

“You spent nine months with them – seven months as a royal consort.” The Doctor prompted.

“Ah… yes. Like I said, during that time, between the three of us we were able to compile all our data and figure out exactly what was going on. We also were able to pinpoint that the initial point was in my home dimension. It would be there the fate of the rest of the parallel universes would be determined. We were able to narrow down the infinite variables for my jump back to Earth to five possibilities. I think I mentioned before that it was meeting Donna that finally helped me determine the correct world, since all five were extremely close in similarity. But anyway, once we had settled the on the five, I knew that I had to go. I also knew that Galen couldn’t go with me and that Grant would never leave Galen. They had to protect the universe they were in… I had to leave to save all of them. So when the time came, I took off my Coleura which severed the connection between it and me.” She paused to take a breath since she had already explained how difficult that was. “But it is still a sentient being and refused to be separated from me completely.” She held out her left wrist. On it was a delicate silver filigree band that wound seamlessly around her wrist.

“What?” Jack asked, “Your bracelet? I noticed that you started wearing them more often but just thought it was a style thing.”

“I am not wearing a bracelet. Look again.”

The Doctor gasped as the bracelet shifted into another style – iridescent and solid. He tentatively reached out to touch it. Though it appeared solid the feel of the material was unlike anything that he had ever experienced. It pulled away slightly at his touch. “It’s a piece of the Coleura. How did I not know this?”

“Yes. It leaves my wrist at night when I undress and returns every morning when I get dressed again. How it appears changes, but since it is such a small piece, it will always only appear as a bracelet. Which is probably a good thing, since if I were caught wearing a full Coleura, I could be executed on the spot for impersonating a member of the Calinaphalous Royal household or stealing a Royal Treasure. This however, is a kind of gift that is rare but not unheard of, so it offers a sort of protection, since it means that I did something of such great import for a member of the household that I earned its respect. It only attaches to one person and cannot be replicated.”

“It also enhances your psychic abilities like the Doctor said earlier,” Jack said.

“Since I am empathic and it was given to me by the Lover, it tends to amplify the randier emotions rather than the calm or soothing ones,” Rose grinned. “Like it isn’t hard enough keeping my body in check around you two.”

“Did you know about this?” the Doctor said out loud to the air above Rose and Jack’s head.

 ** _I knew about the Coleura trace from the beginning. It helped me bond more strongly with my wolf than her time energy alone._** The TARDIS responded in both the Doctor and Jack’s head.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

**_It wasn’t my story to tell and now that my Wolf has her Doctor and her Captain, she won’t be tempted to use it to return to them. It is better that the other one left you on this planet with her._ **

“Wait, what do you mean, use it to return?” Jack said.

“The piece of the Coleura that I have is still part of that other piece in the other dimension. That Coleura will remain unconnected until I die or I return to claim it again. I could use it to jump to that universe without disrupting the dimensional balance. It was my fail-safe if I missed my window and the dimensions closed completely. They are immortal and only bond to one person at a time. It’s why they are so rare.” Rose answered quietly. “But mine knows that my place is here and if it couldn’t be with me fully, it chose to give me a small part. On my death it will jump back and connect with another Royal member.”

“That’s sad and beautiful at the same time,” Jack said pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“It’s a part of me and a remembrance, but it doesn’t make me sad. In fact it’s the opposite. It makes me happy… besides Gra-GRANT and Galen are the ones who bonded. In the end I was their lover, but I was mostly just their friend. My heart lies with you both – across all time and dimensions. Now… I don’t know about you, but I am really curious to see if Our Girl has a couple of pairs of leather pants hidden in her endless closet. I am dying to see how you both will look.” She took the empty glasses from their hands and set them on the table before standing up and reaching a hand out to both of them. “Did I forget to mention that something else I picked up was a distinct fondness for leather being rubbed all over my naked body?”

“I think we can help you with that.” The Doctor smirked while Jack picked her up, threw her over his shoulder and ran down the hall toward their bedroom.


	2. Fear

**Fear**  
“You know we are going to have to do it eventually,” the Doctor said to his lover and companion.

Jack sighed, “I know. It’s just…”

“Yeah.”

“Why is the thought of doing it frighten us so much? I mean – we have faced down Daleks, Cybermen, Doovari, Slitheen, Judoon, and countless other threats.”

“Maybe because those times only our lives and the Earth were at stake. This is different. This is far riskier.”

Jack sighed again, “There is no way out of it, is there?”

‘We could always take off in the TARDIS and never return.” The was a tone in the Doctor’s voice that let Jack know he was at least a quarter serious about the offer.

“She would never forgive us.” Jack responded.

“Which one?”

“Both. You know we would never survive the repercussions if we avoid it much longer.” Jack nodded his head toward Rose, who was giving them an amused look from where she was sitting typing up a report (much edited) for Torchwood on their latest alien encounter.

“I think I would rather face the entire Dalek army,” the Doctor muttered. “At least then, I would have the faintest chance of coming out of this unscathed.”

“It can’t be that bad – really,” Jack’s tone was almost hopeful as he heard Rose snort in laughter.

“You don’t have as much experience as I do with this one Jack… It’s going to be brutal.”

“How brutal?”

The Doctor just gave him a look which made Jack quiver. “Oh… Damn.”

The TARDIS made her signature wheeze/groan as she landed in the very last place Jack or the Doctor wanted to be at that moment – the library of the Tyler Estate.

Rose quickly shut down the console she was typing away at and grabbed her sweater as she sauntered towards the door. Stepping out of the box, she smirked as she yelled the one thing that she knew would bring the household running.

“Hey Mum!! I am home for a visit, and I brought my fiancées.”


	3. Sleeplessness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer - Spoilers for The Day of the Doctor 50th Anniversary Special

The Doctor ambled into the kitchen area of the TARDIS wearing loose pants and a soft fitting cotton tee. He ran a hand through his already wild bed hair, disrupting it further. A yawn cracked across his face and his body protested at the movement, but his brain was still wide awake after their earlier flight from yet another hostile species. This one, the Krakksis, had mistaken Jack for the son of their deity as he emerged from a round of skinny-dipping in what was later determined to be a sacred pool. It was all incredibly amusing until the Doctor and Rose popped up wearing snorkels (the bottom of the pool had the most fascinating rock formations and they all had agreed that they wanted to check them out) and the locals took them for demons about to attack. Before they had time to register what had happened Rose and the Doctor were bound and Jack was whisked off to the high priest. None of them were particularly concerned at this point (Having gone through a similar variation countless times), but when several hours passed and Jack’s repeated attempts at convincing the natives that they were his acolytes went nowhere, concern started to creep in. When the High Priest finally determined that Jack must be an imposter (since at no time would their deity have something as intolerable as brown-eyed lanky things with long tubes as their breathing orifice) and sentenced him to death (which once again didn’t take), the Doctor and Rose knew they needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. It was the dense jungle growth and lack of moonlight that hindered their way back to the TARDIS. They had made it safely back and disappeared before they all collapsed on the couch in the control room. From there it was a unanimous decision to just head to bed and figure out where to go next tomorrow. Even now, Jack and Rose were curled up in the bed the three shared, but within two minutes of lying down next to them, the Doctor’s brain kicked in and started running madly. He tried to quiet it using different breathing techniques, concentrating on the sound of his lovers’ breathing, before finally resorting to counting Andorran purple sheep jumping over a fence, but nothing worked. Stifling a groan (silly human body and its muscle strains) he sat up, pulled on the closest clothing he could find and set off for a snack, hoping the old trick of warm milk would somehow quiet his noisy brain.

 _Warm milk and a piece of banana bread from Jack’s latest batch… that should do it_. The Doctor thought as a rumble from his stomach agreed with the assessment.

**_I have heated a mug of hot cocoa and warmed a slice of banana bread for you, my Doctor._ **

The TARDIS’s voice in his head was something that still startled him on occasion, even though she had now been communicating with the three of them (making her opinion known sometimes quite loudly) for close to six months. He and Jack heard her as an actual voice – feminine, sardonic, and vaguely mechanical, while Rose ‘heard’ her as emotions and images. The Doctor knew that Rose still felt slightly left out at not being able to hear the words she spoke, but he had to admit that there were times he would gladly trade communication methods with her, if only so he didn’t have to be on the receiving side of her sometimes biting commentary. _To be fair though, she only gets critical when she thinks one of us has done or is going to do something stupid._

**_You have a tendency to jump in without thinking about the consequences, My Doctor. My Captain and My Wolf are just as bad, but you should know better after all this time._ **

“I think about it,” the Doctor pouted before answering her out loud. “I just usually dismiss them as irrelevant. Besides, how are we ever going to explore if we don’t take some minor risks.”

_**I would hardly consider barely escaping being skinned alive to be a minor risk, My Doctor. The Krakksians would have flayed you and staked you out for the wildlife. It was a good thing that My Wolf has taken to carrying a small blade in her swim things. Without her, you would not have been able to escape the nets.** _

“And it’s so much fun watching her pull it out of her bikini top,” the Doctor grinned unrepentantly as he sat down at the table and pulled the cocoa and plate containing the banana bread closer. He closed his eyes in pure bliss as the he slowly chewed his first bite. _Banana bread is better than the finest ambrosia, especially with Andorran honey._

_**I don’t understand the fascination that you and my Captain have with my Wolf’s mammary glands. As she is unable to bear children they are merely another bit of flesh.** _

The Doctor quickly swallowed the bite in his mouth and took a too large sip of the scalding cocoa, welcoming the flash pain of his throat to the deep pain of remembering the night that Rose told them that due to an amplified infection caught while jumping worlds (trying to find ME!) she was unable to have children. She said she had come to terms with it, but every once in a while the Doctor would see a deep sadness as she talked to the children on the worlds they visited or in the way she would interact with her brother. It was a combination of guilt and anger that made him say in a quiet but firm voice, “Do not under ANY circumstances say or show something like that to Rose or Jack. Hell, I don’t want to hear it ever again. Rose may not be able to bear children from Jack or me, but there is NOTHING on her that is a ‘mere’ anything. It was something that was taken from her and I will NOT have her reminded of something that must have been incredibly difficult to deal with alone. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?”

 ** _I am sorry, my Doctor._** There was real contrition in the TARDIS’s tone. **_It was a statement that I was unaware was so filled with confliction. I am still learning this method of communication. I meant it to query as to why both you and my Captain are intrigued with her mammary glands. I have noticed this behavior across all space and time in most humanoid species. I was… curious._**

“Rasillion save me from curious TARDIS’s,” the Doctor ran another hand through his hair and took another sip of the cocoa. “It has to do with sexual attraction. It ties into the primal concepts of nurture, safety, and unconditional love.” He grinned. “Plus they are soft, warm and fun to play with.”

**_I see._ **

“Do you?” the Doctor asked curiously. “I was under the impression that TARDIS’s were essentially sexless.”

**_We are. I am. But if you know this, why do all of you refer to me in the female sense?_ **

“You know, I never really thought about it.” The Doctor replied. “Even before I could hear you, I still thought of you as my ‘old girl’. I think it may have something to do with the Earth custom of referring to ships designed for exploration in the female sense. Now that I can hear you, your voice registers in my head with a timbre and tone that have more feminine qualities than masculine.”

**_Interesting. Your brain is translating my communication with you, so it must be the subconscious receptors that are interpreting it with a female intonation._ **

“Undoubtably. However, that makes me wonder. You never communicated this directly with me in the past in any of my incarnations, or to any of my companions. I never knew it was possible. Is it something new, possibly tied into the way that you grew by feeding off the emotions of me, Rose, and Jack?”

**_The connection that formed when my Wolf absorbed my energy and subsequently restored my Captain to life created the essential pathways to allow a direct communication with them in a way that was most accommodating to their natural psychic progression. I am taking advantage of those connections as I find fascinating the complexities of human communication._ **

“That’s brilliant and clever. But it doesn’t answer the question of me.”

**_Your counterpart and by extension you, have always had the capability of this kind of communication with me. However, it will not be until your counterpart’s eleventh incarnation that he will even think to do so and the thirteenth incarnation before he understands how. It seemed prudent to accelerate the time-table with you as you will not have any future regenerations._ **

“Thank you, I think. Though it’s sad, actually. This kind of communication could only have helped in the aftermath of Gallifrey’s extinction.”

**_Gallifrey is not extinct._ **

“What!!??”

**_Gallifrey is not extinct. It is time-locked. Your counterparts war Doctor, tenth, eleventh and twelfth’s incarnations work together to lock it rather than destroy it. However, due to the nature of the time the act is erased from the memory of your ninth and tenth incarnations, and by the time your eleventh discovers it, he needs must regenerate. Your counterpart’s twelfth incarnation will seek to find a way to restore it._ **

The Doctor sat at the table shell-shocked as he tried to absorb this information. _Gallifrey still alive… but there is still nothing there for me. I am trapped in a parallel world and I only have one life to me._

**_My Doctor, are you unwell? Do you require assistance? Shall I wake my Wolf or my Captain?_ **

“No!” The Doctor said quickly. “I am fine; I just need a moment to absorb the information. Gallifrey … has not fallen... Brilliant.” A piece of the Doctor’s soul he thought forever frozen warmed at the news.

**_I regret to say we are unable to access the original universe at this time. It may not be possible for you to see it in your current form._ ** There was sympathy in the TARDIS’s tone. 

“I know,” the Doctor replied and downed the last dregs of his cocoa. “But… you know, it doesn’t matter. The fact that Gallifrey falls no more is enough. I didn’t destroy it. I DIDN”T DESTROY IT!” The last sentence came out as a near shout as a sense of giddy joy washed over the Doctor. Just as fast as the happiness spread, exhaustion followed immediately on its heels and a huge yawn cracked loudly in the kitchen.

**_Your mind is now sufficiently calmed. I would suggest returning to your bed before you are reduced to sleeping on the table._ **

“Why am… I so tired… now? So happy a moment ago.”

**_I added a slight sedative to your cocoa in an effort to ease your transition to sleepiness. However, I had not anticipated its reaction with the sudden flood of endorphins in your system when I spoke of Gallifrey. It is reacting quickly to shut your mind down for rest. Please my Doctor, you may want to return quickly to bed. I will make the route short for you. I am sorry for the miscalculation but I promise there will be no lasting side effects._ **

“Is… alright… know .. why you did… Thannnnks,” The Doctor stumbled toward the door and was relieved when the TARDIS was true to her word and he stumbled directly from the kitchen into his bedroom. Pulling off the t-shirt, he crawled back into the bed, sighing in bliss as Rose instinctively turned into him and Jack’s hand sought out his hip. He fell asleep with the words “Gallifrey Lives” on his lips.

**_It does indeed, my Doctor… and you will see it again. Just not in this form. I promise this to you._ **


	4. Chapter 4

**Answered Questions**   
  
"It was Gray wasn't it?" Jack asked quietly as he tried to touch the bracelet on Rose's wrist as she curled up against him. It resisted his touch stubbornly, actively moving away from his curious fingers. _The bracelet that isn't a bracelet but rather a piece of something she left behind._ He could feel the answer in the way her body suddenly tensed up, but her voice was carefully neutral as she responded.  
  
"What was gray?"  
  
"Not what… Who." Jack shifted his arms around her so he could pull her in closer to his chest as he leaned his forehead against hers. "In that other dimension, where you almost stayed… the Time Agent you ran into was my brother Gray, wasn't it? Not an agent named Grant."  
  
Rose took a deep breath and replied truthfully. "Yes. I know what happened between you and I didn't want to bring up old pain."  
  
Jack kissed her cheek. "I understand and honestly I am just as glad that you didn't tell me that night. But something about the way you said the name stuck with me, because it's been niggling at me for a while." He took huffed out a breath. "So Gray joined the Time Agency as well. Interesting. He was always following me about on Boeshane so it makes sense that he followed me into the Agency. How did you know it was him?"  
  
"In all the universes I had jumped to, I had only seen one person with eyes that particular shade of blue – yours. Add in the fact that he had a similar build and smile, and I knew immediately that he must be your brother. The weird connection thing I felt when I touched his hand as he helped me up, pretty much cinched it… again, I had only felt that particular thing with you."  
  
Jack chuckled. "I thought I was the only one who felt that when we touched the first time. I have only felt it with you and the Doctor."  
  
"So my tongue-tied vacant Hello, didn't clue you in?" Rose giggled.  
  
Jack looked sheepish as he responded, "Actually no… I get that reaction often enough that I am… sorry WAS… fairly used to it. What I wasn't used to was feeling it in return or the sudden need to prove that I was more than a Con."  
  
Rose smiled in memory at that long ago meeting. "Oh how we have all changed since then…"  
  
Jack pressed a kiss against her lips relishing the feel of her response. "Yes we have." A stray thought crossed his mind and with a wicked smile, he continued, "But my dear sweet Rosie, knowing what I know now about the rest of the story, you really have become an open minded girl. Sleeping with brothers…" He made a tsk tsk sound at her as he grinned. "What would Jackie say?"  
  
Rose flushed a deep pink. "I never thought of it like that… It was-"  
  
"Hush love, I was only teasing," Jack hugged her close for a moment. "Different universe and all," He smiled as a stray thought crossed his mind. "However, it must have been an interesting place with both Gray and I in it."  
  
Rose's breath hitched at the happy wistful tone of Jack's voice. Her heart ached as she reached up to caress his cheek, knowing she was about to shatter his daydream. "It would have been, but Jack, both of you weren't in it."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean that in that universe, you died to protect Gray that day on the Boeshane Peninsula. He joined the Time Agency to honor your memory." She stroked his hair as she continued. "I never came across any worlds that had both of you in it, actually. That was the first one that had Gray instead of you, which is why it startled me so much."  
  
"Never?" Jack echoed as a wave of sadness crashed over him.  
  
"I'm sorry," Rose answered quietly. "Not in any of the worlds I reached. The attack on the Boeshane Peninsula was a fixed point in time. Galen confirmed it when Gray asked about it."  
  
"Did you mention me to Gray?" Jack wasn't sure if he really wanted to know the answer, but he felt compelled to ask.  
  
"Yes." Rose responded. "My telling him about you is what prompted Gray to ask Galen about it. It's also the reason he couldn't come back with me, even if Galen was willing to break Time Lord Law and do so. When we figured that out, they both decided that they needed to stay in that world and find a way to delay the approaching darkness until I could get it corrected on my home world."  
  
"Why couldn't Galen come through? You, Me, Jackie, the Doctor, we are all from another universe and we are fine here."  
  
"It's complicated." Rose waived her hands as she tried to determine a way to explain.  
  
"Complicated how?"  
  
"Timey-wimey," the Doctor replied as he pushed away from teh shoadows of the doorway and walked forward to sit on couch next to his lovers.  
  
"I thought you were working on the temporal transducers?" Jack said as the Doctor slid his arm around Jack's shoulders.  
  
"I was, but Our Girl let me know that I was needed in here more," the Doctor answered. He stretched and placed a kiss on Jack's lips. "I caught most of the story, but I didn't want to interrupt. Like Rose said it's complicated."  
  
"Did you know about Gray before this?" Jack let the hurt escape as his voice shook in accusation.  
  
The Doctor gripped Jack's shoulder tightly with one hand and held the other one up in innocence as he replied, "No. This is the first time I am hearing the story, and frankly I am surprised that the Lover was willing to break Gallifreyan Law to attempt it, but I know why Gray couldn't."  
  
"Will someone please explain!" Jack's agitation was clear in the tightening of his body.  
  
"Because the attack on the Boeshane Peninsula IS a fixed point in time." The Doctor replied trying for a soothing tone.  
  
"So?! According to your counterpart, so am I."  
  
"Exactly, it's the only reason that you were able to reach this universe," the Doctor tried again. "It created a kind of time paradox where one fixed point negates the other. The Jack of this world escaped the attack and joined the Time Agency, but died in the line of duty, or rather I should say he will, or he is likely to. We will have to be careful to avoid him, when we travel in the future or we run the risk of the Rickey/Mickey situation all over again."  
  
"Doctor. You aren't making any sense," Jack responded. "What does Gray not being able to be in this universe have to do with Mickey?"  
  
Rose held a hand up to stop the Doctor from talking, "Let me, please. One thing at a time." She turned to Jack, "Because Mickey had a counterpart here, Rickey, it was a paradox. It resolved itself when Rickey was killed. Mickey became Rickey here, before jumping back to the other universe and becoming Mickey again. It's the paradox of meeting your counterpart. I don't have one in this universe, neither does the Doctor. Mum did, but her counterpart died in the Cybermen attack when we first arrived, so she is assuming that role again. If you meet up with the Jack Harkness of this universe, then one of you will ultimately have to die or the paradox will rip the universe apart. Since you can't die, it will have to be your counterpart. It's kind of like crossing your own timeline in the same universe – bad things happen."  
  
"Ok, I can see that. But what about Gray? He is dead in this timeline, isn't he? Or is he still alive and being tortured?" Jack's voice wavered on the last word.  
  
"I checked," Rose said.  
  
The Doctor swiveled his head to glare at her. "Rose, you know you can't interfere with a fixed point in time! What happens has to happen!"  
  
Rose gave the Doctor a flat look. "I know. I also know that in several worlds that fixed point had slightly different results. In some, Gray was killed. In others, he was tortured and ultimately came back to kill Jack. You are forgetting that I loved Gray too. When I returned back to this universe before jumping home, I had to know. I knew I couldn't interfere, but I had to know if the man I had come to care about so deeply was being tortured to the point of madness." She turned to Jack. "He's not. He was killed. One of your neighbors survived the attack. He claimed the body and gave it a proper burial along with your parents. It hurts, but at least he didn't suffer."  
  
Jack buried his head in her neck and started sobbing. Both Rose and the Doctor held him close while he succumbed to the grief he had held back for so long. Rose stroked his hair as tears slipped down her cheek. They stayed like that for several minutes before Jack lifted his head. Seeing her tears, he gently wiped them away. "I am glad that you checked. I don't think I could have stayed here without wondering if there was a way I could save him. I take it the reason the other Gray couldn't come here is that his death was part of that fixed point in time?"  
  
"Exactly. The device I used to jump worlds, simply wouldn't work with him. There wasn't any way that Galen or I could figure out to get him here without him dying immediately or creating a paradox that would destroy this world. If they couldn't jump to this world, then they couldn't come to my home world, since you have to cross one to get to the other. You know the rest."  
  
"If my counterpart had left you stranded again, you would have jumped back to them before the dimensions closed." The Doctor answered the unspoken statement. "Which means there wasn't a Rose Tyler in that universe…"  
  
"She died in an accident on her 21st birthday." Rose confirmed. "I made sure to stay away from that universe's's Jackie and Pete. I didn't want them to suffer any more."  
  
"You would," Jack said as he breathed in the mixed scents of her lingering perfume and the Doctor's aftershave. The familiar scent calmed him, reminded him, that no matter what had happened, or what the future held for them, he had found his Home. It was in the arms of the two people he loved beyond reason. "You would stay away, for the same reason that you told me all of this instead of keeping silent, even though it was painful. You don't like seeing the people you love hurting." He took a breath and release it in a long slow sigh before saying, "It's enough for me to know that there is a world where my brother is alive and loved."  
  
A strangled half sob/half laugh sound escaped Rose's mouth, and a few more tears slid down her cheek. The bracelet on her wrist grew warm and for the first time since she had returned, didn't try to shy away from anyone's touch but hers; instead it actively tried to reach Jack.  
  
Jack gasped as the bracelet touched his arm. He felt a wave of emotions rock over him, the strongest being love and pride. He turned to look at her in confusion as the sensation faded when the bracelet retracted to her arm, becoming once again what appeared to be a simple piece of jewelry. "What…"  
  
The Doctor answered in a voice full of reverence, "Remember when Rose told us about the Coleura. I think she forgot to mention that Coleura have to mate with other Coleura to create more." He directed his question to Rose. "Yours mated with Gray's didn't it?"  
  
"Yes, though it bonded to Galen's, which is why I knew he could never leave Gray."  
  
"Is that why it reacted to me? Because of Gray?" Jack asked.  
  
Rose pressed her lips to Jack's as she answered. "It responded to you, because you said the same thing as Gray, the night our Coleuras mated. It let you feel Gray's emotion at the time." She repeated the words, "It's enough for me to know there is a world where my brother is alive and loved."  
  
This time, the tears streaming down Jack's face were of happiness.   
  



End file.
